“Remember what I said, Stuart. Don’t make me chase you.” Taking the long strip of cloth, Bastien began to wind it snugly around and around Melanie’s thigh where the vamp had cut her.
She braced a hand on his shoulder. “Thank you.”
Bastien completely lost his train of thought as warmth flowed into him at the sweet contact. He heard her pulse leap at his touch. Felt her breath catch as though it were his own.
“Our new enemy developed the sedative, Stuart,” she said.
“And yet, you’re using it.”
“I didn’t get my hands on the drug,” she said, “until it was used against vampires and immortals during the vampire king’s uprising.”
Bastien tied a knot in the makeshift bandage. “The enemy’s name is Emrys and he runs a mercenary group.” Rising, he glanced at the vamp. “At least we think it’s mercenary and not military.”
Stuart frowned. “What, you mean like Blackwater?”
“Yes, but think smaller and more elite. Only those who need to know are even aware of this shadow army’s existence. It’s so secretive we haven’t been able to ascertain its name or location, only that of the leader.”
“We wouldn’t have even known that,” Melanie said, “if he hadn’t duped the vampire king.”
Stuart looked doubtful, but at least he was listening.
Bastien hadn’t really anticipated accomplishing this much when he had proposed his plan. He and Melanie had really lucked out.
Of course, there were a lot more recently turned vampires in the area, thanks to the vampire king. Near the end, he had told his followers to turn others at will, and his soldiers had taken that order and run with it. Chris Reordon was still sorting through all of the Missing Person reports that had inundated the police and sheriff ’s departments in North Carolina and surrounding states.
“Was this before or after you killed the king?” Stuart asked with an abundance of sarcasm.
Bastien stood too close to Melanie. Every time their arms brushed, he was struck by little shocks of her emotions, many of which revolved around his sorry ass. “Before. What do you think weakened the king’s ranks enough for us to destroy them?”
Stuart frowned.
“This mercenary—Emrys—promised the vampire king power, an army . . . everything the king desired basically . . . in exchange for the capture of one of us. The vampire king trusted him and was taken down with the drug, many of his followers with him.”
Sure it was a fabrication. Well, not the deal part, but the Emrys taking down the vampire king part. That had been pure Immortal Guardian handiwork accomplished with the aid of Reordon and his network.
And a butt-load of Napalm-B.
“So they want one of you guys?” Stuart asked, a speculative gleam entering his eye.
“They want you, too,” Melanie said in that soft, genuine voice of hers. “We don’t know what their aim is. I assume they want to study you, possibly expose you to the public.”
“What’s so wrong with going public?”
Bastien snorted. “Nothing if you invest your money in repeating pump-action crossbow manufacturing. Because as soon as word breaks, an ass-load of religious fanatics, hunting aficionados, and horror movie fans are going to come after us. All of us. But, since vampires are the ones who actively prey upon humans, they’ll come after you first.”
“Shit.”
“Precisely.”
“It isn’t just that,” Melanie said. “This man and those he commands are butchers. We’ve seen their handiwork. They may promise you wealth and power and anything else they think you desire, but they will use the drug when you least expect it. It may be at your first meeting. Or at your fifth or fiftieth, when they feel you’re no longer useful to them. They think you’re an expendable animal. And when they have you at their mercy, they will torture you.”
Bastien nodded. “When I say they want to study you, I don’t mean they want to take your blood pressure or ask you to turn your
She braced a hand on his shoulder. “Thank you.”
Bastien completely lost his train of thought as warmth flowed into him at the sweet contact. He heard her pulse leap at his touch. Felt her breath catch as though it were his own.
“Our new enemy developed the sedative, Stuart,” she said.
“And yet, you’re using it.”
“I didn’t get my hands on the drug,” she said, “until it was used against vampires and immortals during the vampire king’s uprising.”
Bastien tied a knot in the makeshift bandage. “The enemy’s name is Emrys and he runs a mercenary group.” Rising, he glanced at the vamp. “At least we think it’s mercenary and not military.”
Stuart frowned. “What, you mean like Blackwater?”
“Yes, but think smaller and more elite. Only those who need to know are even aware of this shadow army’s existence. It’s so secretive we haven’t been able to ascertain its name or location, only that of the leader.”
“We wouldn’t have even known that,” Melanie said, “if he hadn’t duped the vampire king.”
Stuart looked doubtful, but at least he was listening.
Bastien hadn’t really anticipated accomplishing this much when he had proposed his plan. He and Melanie had really lucked out.
Of course, there were a lot more recently turned vampires in the area, thanks to the vampire king. Near the end, he had told his followers to turn others at will, and his soldiers had taken that order and run with it. Chris Reordon was still sorting through all of the Missing Person reports that had inundated the police and sheriff ’s departments in North Carolina and surrounding states.
“Was this before or after you killed the king?” Stuart asked with an abundance of sarcasm.
Bastien stood too close to Melanie. Every time their arms brushed, he was struck by little shocks of her emotions, many of which revolved around his sorry ass. “Before. What do you think weakened the king’s ranks enough for us to destroy them?”
Stuart frowned.
“This mercenary—Emrys—promised the vampire king power, an army . . . everything the king desired basically . . . in exchange for the capture of one of us. The vampire king trusted him and was taken down with the drug, many of his followers with him.”
Sure it was a fabrication. Well, not the deal part, but the Emrys taking down the vampire king part. That had been pure Immortal Guardian handiwork accomplished with the aid of Reordon and his network.
And a butt-load of Napalm-B.
“So they want one of you guys?” Stuart asked, a speculative gleam entering his eye.
“They want you, too,” Melanie said in that soft, genuine voice of hers. “We don’t know what their aim is. I assume they want to study you, possibly expose you to the public.”
“What’s so wrong with going public?”
Bastien snorted. “Nothing if you invest your money in repeating pump-action crossbow manufacturing. Because as soon as word breaks, an ass-load of religious fanatics, hunting aficionados, and horror movie fans are going to come after us. All of us. But, since vampires are the ones who actively prey upon humans, they’ll come after you first.”
“Shit.”
“Precisely.”
“It isn’t just that,” Melanie said. “This man and those he commands are butchers. We’ve seen their handiwork. They may promise you wealth and power and anything else they think you desire, but they will use the drug when you least expect it. It may be at your first meeting. Or at your fifth or fiftieth, when they feel you’re no longer useful to them. They think you’re an expendable animal. And when they have you at their mercy, they will torture you.”
Bastien nodded. “When I say they want to study you, I don’t mean they want to take your blood pressure or ask you to turn your
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